


Paradoxes

by maze413



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Angst, Dinosaurs, M/M, Minor Character Death, yelling into the void
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-24 07:35:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1596812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maze413/pseuds/maze413
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The portal from the PTA meeting months ago has started opening again, and Carlos and his scientists want to know why. What they don't realize is whatever mysterious force controlling the portals doesn't want to be messed with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paradoxes

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of a few picture prompts a friend of mine sent me. Links to said pictures at the end.

“Carlos, another one opened.”

“Great. Be right there.”

The scientist immediately hung up his phone, not even taking the time to wish the other person on the line farewell. They had already shared their sendoffs two, three, four times. Once a month ago. Once last week. But now, not a precious moment would be wasted on frivolous good-byes.

He threw his phone in the pocket of his lab coat, nearly missing the opening altogether.

He slammed the lid of his laptop shut, taking the computer under his arm. It was rushed to a tote bag, which was already full of various equipment, all too complex to explain to the average layman. Carlos slung the bag over his shoulder and took one last look in the mirror before he left. He wouldn’t admit it, but it had become a habit to check his hair last thing before he locked down the lab for the night. It had a reputation to hold up to, after all.

The scientist didn’t take the time to lock down the laboratory. He flew out the doors, giving them just enough of a push backwards to ensure that it would shut. He pulled open the door of his Coupe (which, of course, was also left unlocked) and flung the bag into the passenger seat.

The drive took five minutes less than was legal.

By the time Carlos arrived, two rubber earplugs were thrust into his ears. From his destination came an unholy sound, one he had trouble getting used to. He wasn’t the only one; the man waiting for him was wearing a pair of violet headphones. They weren’t the type normally used for hearing protection, but they worked well enough.

“Hello, Cecil,” Carlos called out with a wave as he rushed out the car door. Within a moment he was digging into his tote bag, pulling out his equipment. Wires dangled from the gages and gadgets. Carlos struggled pulling them out of the bag, nearly dropping a particularly fragile looking mechanism. Two arms reached around him, collecting the wires and taking out an abandoned cardboard box with them.

“Thanks,” Carlos said, his eyes darting up towards his boyfriend. His lips stretched into a small smile. Cecil’s eyes were wide with excitement. He was arguably more excited than Carlos himself; he’d never helped with an experiment before.

The two of them dragged the tangle of equipment out of the car. Carlos took a deep breath as he looked ahead. The sound was one thing to get used to, but the sight of it—it was impossible to look away.

Before them, stretched across the scene of desert wastes, was a vortex. It swirled with colors of pink and blue, green and yellow; it shown colors Carlos had never imagined. The magnificent portal was the source of the ear-piercing screech that polluted their eardrums, and eventually, ancient beasts that roamed the land in millennium past.  
This hadn't been the first time the portal appeared; it first opened over a year ago.

During a school PTA meeting, pterodactyls fled out, killing many and maiming more. It had been so long ago, no one was expecting the same portal to open again. Out came dinosaurs that ravaged the town, raptors this time. It was seemingly random, without an aim or objective. There was so little information, it was impossible to find a pattern—until it happened again.  
A third time the mouth of the portal opened its maw, sending forth more prehistoric creatures. Now, Carlos and his team of scientists were watching.

They wrote down coordinates, dates, times. Not a detail was skipped. They couldn't miss a thing. In Night Vale, any minute piece of information could be a clue. Their predictions increased in accuracy as the portal openings grew more frequent.

They had a hypothesis which grew with precision, and they were becoming more and more certain when the next one would open. They knew another would appear within the week. The entire time Carlos was on edge, waiting for his opportunity to visit one.

And now he was ready.

“Are you sure you're going to be safe, Carlos?”

The scientist nodded. "The portal has a grace period. After it opens, there's a time before anything comes out. The grace period increases in length each time a portal opens. If our calculations are correct, this grace period will last approximately half an hour."

“Half an hour?”

“It's just an estimation. We need to hurry, Cecil. If we lose this one, we might not have another opportunity.”

Carlos began the tedious process of untangling the wires of the devices, kneeling down beside the car in a solitary crouch. He uncovered what looked like a box with sensors covering its entire surface.

“How can I help?”

“Put this in front of the portal as close as you can get it.

Cecil took the device and jogged up to the portal. He approached the vortex as close as he dared, setting it down inches away from the opening.

“That should be good!” Carlos called out and beckoned him to return to his side. He leaned over to take his laptop out of his bag, taking the wire connected to the box and inserting the USB cable into the computer. Within seconds the detector activated, displaying its information on the screen.

“It’s working,” Carlos beamed, his eyes glued to the screen. “This is phenomenal!”

Cecil glanced over his shoulder, watching as numbers and figures flashed beside graphs recording measurements of the unknown.

“Thank you so much, Cecil!” Carlos said, happiness ringing in his words as he reached around and embraced his partner. Pulling Cecil towards himself, Carlos gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ve been waiting for this for months.”

Cecil opened his mouth, about to respond, before the portal’s yell turned into a scream. The screeching that invaded their ears was barely muffled by the protection they wore. The two men instantly pressed their hands to their ears, the earsplitting noise drowning out any other sound.

“What’s going on?” Cecil yelled, his voice straining to be heard over the overbearing sound.

“I don’t know!” Carlos’s words were seen, not heard. The scientist continued to yell, but Cecil couldn’t read the frantic phrases forming from his lips. He pointed to the portal, screaming. The sound grew louder and the computer went wild; the graphs violently fluctuated and the numbers became far from comprehensible.

Carlos, hands plastered to the sides of his face, ran out to the portal. Cecil reached out to him, cursing Carlos’s impulsiveness. He screamed out his name, fearing his scientist would soon be as lost as his words.

Carlos was less than a foot away from the portal as it shut as suddenly as it had opened. It left behind a pool of green goo, some of which fell onto Carlos's outstretched hand. The two men were motionless, paralyzed by shock and half-deafened. Carlos looked to his hand and then to where the portal once stood.

“What have I done?”

 

One day, the sun shone bright and the sky was a sapphire blue. In the village the citizens milled around. Gossip was spread, materials were sold, and birds chirped away. It was a prosperous year.

But that was going to change.

“Dragon!” A voice, masculine, rang through the town square. “There's a dragon! To the north!”

Headed turned towards the voice. A murmur or disbelief ran through the crowds of people. “He surely doesn’t believe in those silly old stories, does he? They’re naught but faerie tales.”  
Within minutes soldiers were marching toward the north end of town.

What they faced was not a dragon, but a creature they had no other name for. It was wingless, towering, terrifying. A roar came from its outstretched maw. The men shuttered at its presence.  
The soldiers fought it with swords and spears. They slashed at the beast, barely nicking its tough skin. The mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex thrust out its head, gripping a man between its jaws. The soldier screamed, the life quickly leaving his body.

“Palmer!”

“Send reinforcements!”

“Archers! We need archers!”

One after another the men were mowed down. The surviving warriors slashed at the dinosaur's skin, gradually cutting open gashes. It took countless men and gallons of blood, but the beast was slain.

But that was only one of many.

 

“Carlos?” Cecil finally broke the silence. “Carlos, what happened?”

“I think... I think the portal was interrupted. It didn't like being observed and closed itself. But like a clogged drain, it has to leak out somewhere...” He swallowed. “And that somewhere is not here. Not this time, not this place. It could've gone anywhere, Cecil.”

“Oh,” was all Cecil said.

“Yeah.” Carlos nodded. “Oh.”

“What's going to happen?”

“Oh God, I don't know. Scientifically speaking, if the portal opens...” His voice drifted into the desert wind as he gathered the mind to look at Cecil.

“Carlos? Why are you looking at me like that?"

“No.” The scientist ran up to him. “Please, no.” He gripped his shoulders tightly, tight enough to bruise.

“Why can't I feel you?” Cecil asked. Hs struggled not to let his calm voice break. “Carlos, what's happening to me?”

“Oh God, Cecil, I'm sorry...”

“What’s wrong with me, Carlos? You're scaring me!”

“I love you. I'm so sorry.” Tears began to fall from the scientist's face. Cecil raised a hand as if to wipe them away. He stopped short and held the hand up to his eyes. The limb was gradually turning translucent. Carlos’s weeping face could be seen through it.

“I'm sorry, Cecil. This is all my fault.”

Cecil looked down at his body, which was slowly fading away. His extremities were transparent; his fingers had all but disappeared. Horrified, he watched as his entire body began to dissolve.  
“Please forgive me, Cecil.”

The man opened his mouth to utter final words but was gone before he could speak.

“No.” Clutching empty air, Carlos the scientist fell to his knees. “Cecil! Come back!” He pounded his fists against the sand. With a final jab he let himself collapse to the ground, sand coating his wet cheeks. “Please, Cecil."

 

Carlos never lost his habit of checking his wrist for the time. When he discovered that he had been in the empty desert for over an hour, it dawned on him that he was wearing his watch. He hadn't worn it since he gave it to Cecil all those months ago.

He hesitated to return to the car. He was sandy and covered in slime, but suddenly a shower didn't seem very important anymore. He only retired to the safety of the Coupe when he heard howling in the distance, praying it was only a coyote.

When Carlos awoke, his watch read hours later, but the moon was still low in the sky. There was no howling; he glanced around, searching for what woke him. Adrenalin filled his veins. Without a native of the desert, Carlos suddenly felt naked. Is his rush he hadn't packed any weapons. He was vulnerable. Cecil would’ve scolded him.

_Don't think about him._

Something flashed in the corner of his eye. Carlos looked to where it came from, clutching his seatbelt. His computer and lab equipment was still there. If it was a petty thief, they would've been gone by now.

He saw it again in the corner of his eye the moment he glanced away. Looking directly at the spot, nothing was there. He tried to look at it in his peripheral vision, like he would sometimes watch the Faceless Old Woman, but there was still nothing to be seen. He took a deep breath, sighing. The air shuttered in his throat. Cecil was gone.

_It’s all my fault._

He didn’t realize he was crying again until he felt a tear fall on his shirt.

_Curiosity killed the cat-lover._

With sudden resolve Carlos got out of the car, slamming the door behind him. He walked a few feet away from the car. He shivered in the cold night air.

“Come and get me!” He called out to the starry void of the sky. “Punish me for messing with time! I deserve it!”

A shape flickered in the corner of his eye. He shuttered but stood where he was.

“What are you waiting for?”

The shape flickered into sight again for a fraction of a second longer.

“Hello?”

The shape appeared again, even longer this time; the image distorted as it fought to remain in place. Carlos watched wordlessly as the blotch flickered in and out of existence, winning the battle.  
With a final, sudden return, the shape came to stay.

“Cecil!” Carlos yelled, his exhausted voice raspy. “Oh god, Cecil!” He bounded forward and embraced the man tightly, tight enough to bruise.

“Can you please let go of me?” Cecil wheezed.

“Sorry,” Carlos blubbered, letting go of him and taking a hold of his hand instead. “I’m so sorry. How are you here? I thought I created a paradox! I was afraid the whole world would fall apart because of me!”

Cecil wrapped both of Carlos’s hands in his own, giving them a squeeze.

“My dear Carlos,” he said gently, “Paradoxes have a way of working themselves out.”

**Author's Note:**

> http://soupengine.deviantart.com/art/its-coming-441935632  
> http://arvalis.deviantart.com/art/T-Rex-vs-Samurai-285079933


End file.
